Unique Books and Literary Gifts

The Penalty Kick: The Story of a Gamechanger

by Robert McCrum

‘Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for ninety minutes and at the end, the Germans win.’ Gary Lineker

In 1891, a contentious new measure against an excess of foul play, Rule 13, was proposed to the FA by an amateur goalkeeper from County Armagh. ‘The Irishman’s Motion’ modernised the world’s most popular game. Today – in the shootout – Rule 13 continues to influence the sport through its astonishing psychological grip on our imaginations.

A tale of sportsmanship, chance and obsession, The Penalty Kick: The Story of a Gamechanger explores both the addiction of risk, and a doomed father-son relationship that could have been torn from the pages of a late-Victorian novel, inspired by the edgy, ruthless and egalitarian spirit of Northern Ireland.

Frida Kahlo and My Left Leg

by Emily Rapp Black

At first sight of Kahlo’s painting The Two Fridas, Emily Rapp Black felt an instant connection with the artist. An amputee from childhood, Rapp Black grew up with a succession of prosthetic limbs, and learned that she had to hide her disability from the world. Kahlo sustained lifelong injuries after a horrific bus crash and her right leg was eventually amputated.

In Kahlo’s art, Rapp Black recognised her own life, from the numerous operations to the compulsion to create to silence pain. Here she tells her story of losing her infant son to Tay-Sachs, giving birth to a daughter, and learning to accept her body. She writes of how Frida Kahlo inspired her to find a way forward when all seemed lost.

Contains 5 images of Frida Kahlo’s art and clothing.

Frida: The Making of an Icon – Tate Modern, 25 June 26 – 3 January 27

Ways of Telling

by Xandra Bingley

‘With an evident love for language and the subtle textures of daily life, Bingley provides a dazzling trip inside her mind that rewards close attention. It’s a gem.’ Publishers Weekly

The perfect gift

All our hardbacks are linen-bound, with a silk ribbon marker and red head and tail bands.

Every hardback purchased from our website is wrapped in printed tissue paper and packed in a bespoke red-lined box.

Hand written gift notes are available on request at no extra charge.